REPURPOSING A GRAIN SILO ELEVATOR IN SEYMOUR, INDIANA: AN OPPORTUNITY FOR NEW LIFE A CREATIVE PROJECT SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE MASTER OF URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING BY CALEB ERNEST LOHREN DEEG – ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF URBAN PLANNING AND ADVISOR BALL STATE UNIVERSITY MUNCIE, INDIANA July 2017 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The compilation of academic attainment guided me to this final moment of recognition for my passion of Urban Planning and Development. From the beginning of my pursuit for an Urban Planning education, my passion for helping others through rationally detecting, analyzing and providing solutions for communities and cities retained its importance in the present and with positive reinforcement for my future experiences. First and foremost, I would like to thank my committee chair Professor Lohren Deeg for all of his readily available support and insight aiding my vision and creative project. I would also like to thank my family for their love and always supporting me with my academic adventures. Specifically, I would like to thank my father for his inspiration and original question that sparked the creative idea resulting in the evolution of my creative project. Lastly, I would like to thank the entire faculty, staff, peers, and fellow students from the College of Architecture and Planning and Ball State University. I would also like to thank everyone who contributed to this creative project’s completion. Finally, thank you especially to my friends for providing five years of knowledge, experience, and memories concluding my college career. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………1 1.1 Problem Statement 1.2 Significance of Problem 1.3 Motivation for Creative Project 1.4 Methodology 1.5 History and Background CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW……………………………………………………………………………………………………………8 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Themes 2.2.1 History, Heritage, Culture and Identity 2.2.2 Sustainability, Environment and Conservation 2.2.3 Tourism and Authenticity 2.2.4 Adaptive Reuse and Creative Redevelopment 2.3 Conclusion CHAPTER 3: CASE STUDIES…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….16 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Themes 3.2.1 Tours 3.2.1.1 History 3.2.1.2 Function 3.2.1.3 Significance 3.2.2 Market and Garden 3.2.2.1 History 3.2.2.2 Function 3.2.2.3 Significance 3.2.3 Recreation 3.2.3.1 History 3.2.3.2 Function 3.2.3.3 Significance 3.2.4 Residential 3.2.4.1 History 3.2.4.2 Function 3.2.4.3 Significance 3.2.5 Heritage 3.2.5.1 History 3.2.5.2 Function 3.2.5.3 Significance 3.2.6 Art 3.2.6.1 History 3.2.6.2 Function 3.2.6.3 Significance 3.2.7 Landmark 3.2.7.1 History 3.2.7.2 Function 3.2.7.3 Significance 3.2.8 Restaurant 3.2.8.1 History 3.2.8.2 Function 3.2.8.3 Significance 3.3 Concluding Recommendations CHAPTER 4: INTERVIEWS………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………45 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Interviews with Developers and Owners 4.3 Interviews with Seymour Stakeholders 4.4 Conclusion CHAPTER 5: PROPOSAL…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………53 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Background of Site 5.3 Recommended Use 5.4 Site Proposals 5.5 Financial Data 5.6 Conclusion CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………79 6.1 Reflection and Future Recommendations References Sources Appendix CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Problem Statement This creative project focuses on repurposing concrete grain silo elevators in towns and cities. As large structures dispersed throughout North America’s landscape, grain silo elevators contain an often- overlooked potential providing an opportunity to produce new innovation. Those determined to develop such sites become puzzled by the question, ‘what can you do with a grain silo elevator?’ This creative project will answer that question by exploring literature, case studies and developers who have innovatively repurposed grain silo elevators. The results will then be used to examine the opportunities for a grain silo elevator renovation in Seymour, Indiana. This particular grain silo was chosen for repurposing due to its location and the fact that it is currently abandoned. The site has the potential to create opportunity for the community and aid in its growth and future development, allowing this creative project to serve as an example for other cities and developers. 1.2 Significance of Problem Grain silo elevators are sleeping giants when exploring the untapped potential of new innovation in cities and towns. As quality of life elements become the forefront for attracting residents and visitors, creativity is crucial in the development of a destination. The opportunity to creatively repurpose a grain silo elevator as a destination not only completes the innovative draw to cities and towns, but also reuses a bygone structure. Further, the individual attributes of repurposing historical buildings add unique value to the site, the developer’s experience and city or town (http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2015-feb-tedxjacksonville-belonging-to-the-universe). The connotation of repurposing grain silo elevators sparked the interest of many, but the journey towards implementing this approach is not guided. This creative project will create an example with the intention that future developers may use it as a means to reflect their own repurposed project. 1 1.3 Motivation for Creative Project Traveling home for the American holiday of Thanksgiving, my father and I drove on the same route headed east on U.S. 50 in Seymour, Indiana. As we drove we saw the same local pharmacy on our right, a few retail stores and restaurants on our left, passed through the historic downtown with interesting stores and fascinating facades, and then on our right was a structure I never paid too much attention to; the abandoned grain silo elevator. Sitting there like a giant headstone, my attention poised on the massive height of the concrete silos, I pondered what an interesting structure. It was just then when my dad said something I would never forget; “wouldn’t it be cool if that was used as something else? I always thought it would be cool if there was a restaurant on the top floor and you had to take an elevator or stairs to get up to it” (Ernest, J. 2013, November. Personal Communication). Ever since he spoke those words, my mind begun racing towards the endless possibilities of reusing and repurposing that grain silo elevator. 1.4 Methodology The research methods of this creative project include literature review, case studies, interviews with experienced developers and owners of repurposed grain silo elevators and with stakeholders in Seymour and a proposal recommendation for the site in Seymour. The literature review will aid in the discovery of theories and practices as the literature relates to topics such as renovation, revitalization, green infrastructure, repurposing, redeveloping and restoration. It will also provide a source to measure what realistic approaches should or should not be taken when repurposing grain elevators and similar structures. The case studies will act as the main guide in understand the process by which other grain elevator repurposed sites have been successfully implemented. The case studies will also provide the opportunity for potential leads of communication to developers and owners who have experience in repurposing. The interviews will serve as a way to gather information directly from the developers and owners of existing repurposed grain elevator sites, and show how their experience can be used to 2 understand how to repurpose a grain elevator site. The site proposal will include interior and exterior renderings of what the grain elevator can become, a financial forecast and the benefits the repurposed site can have and a guide to successfully completing the project. Finally, the project will include a summary of the research and all data gathered to support the site proposal encouraging implementation on the site in Seymour, Indiana. 1.5 History and Background The history of grain silo elevators in North America can raise curiosity around their designated purpose, engineering, construction, and the gradual evolution of the building type. Elevators arguably communicate a clear relationship between form and function. Le Corbusier, renowned European architect, once stated in 1923, “thus we have the American grain elevators and factories, the magnificent first-fruits of the new age” (Byrnes, 2012). The grain elevators Le Corbusier, and other European architects fascinated with these structures in the early 20th century were composed of steel and concrete. Invented in the 1840s, the first grain elevators were primarily made of wood and were used to store grains from harvested farms (2012). Architects were not the only people drawn to these buildings. Artists illustrated the eras of art through the interpretation of grain elevators and their significance to the land and nature. Not just architects were drawn to these buildings but artists as well who have illustrated the eras of design and art through the interpretation of grain elevators and their significance to the land and nature. In the 1920s, grain elevators stood as monumental structures that, at the time, symbolized the nation and its prosperity in agriculture (Mahar-Keplinger, 1993, p. 8). Artist Demuth “connected the grain elevator to the history of architectural masterpieces while also celebrating its uniqueness as an American object” (p. 9). In the 1930s, industrialization spread across the Midwest intensifying the tension between nature and industry. The grain elevators have a certain appeal as statements of form and function (to architects). They became more common on the plains and in rural areas and in a way 3 redefined the “pastoral image of the American landscape” (p. 9). By the mid-1930s, the Great Depression halted the construction of grain elevators.